March 2009 Pastor's Page

Live Like You Were Dying

So teach us to number our days, so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom – Psalm 90:12

Imagine, a parent being able to say to an estranged child, “I love you;” or an adult daughter offering forgiveness to her father for abuse; or people taking time to encourage and affirm each other; or a young person stepping across the line of faith as they embrace eternity.

Here at First Presbyterian Church, we are looking at a unique opportunity this Lenten Season. We’ll be going through a 30-day series called, "Live Like You Were Dying," inspired by the Grammy award winning song recorded by Tim McGraw. This series takes a song of the culture, the deepest needs of people, the truth of God’s word, and brings it all together during a focused period of time for spiritual transformation. The Bible teaches that we’re not guaranteed tomorrow. So how should we live? This series will challenge us to:

v Live with a sense of urgency (I Peter 4:7-8)
v Live with a sense of eternity (Psalm 90:12)
v Live with a sense of priority (Ephesians 5:15-17)
v Give up the frantic pursuit of the “good life” (Matthew 16:25-26)
v Make more time for relationships (Hebrews 10:24-25)
v Offer forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32)
v Celebrate being released from God’s judgment (Romans 8:33-34)
v Liberate others from your judgment (Romans 14:13)
v Do the unexpected in love (Matthew 5:39-42)

There are three ways you can make the most of this series:

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP
Commit to coming to church for the Sunday morning worship. Services and sermons will be devoted to these themes: 1) live like you were dying; 2) love deeper; 3) speak sweeter; 4) give forgiveness; and, 5) embrace eternity. The Sunday morning series will begin on March 1st and go through April 5th. On March 8th we’ll take the day off from the series so that our women might lead us in worship as we celebrate the gifts of women.

SMALL GROUP LESSONS
Inspiring messages, taught by best-selling author Gary Smalley provide small groups with four, short, weekly video teachings based on the themes of the LLYWD series. I will facilitate the discussions for each of these groups. One group will meet on Thursday mornings at 10:00 in the Conference Room (beginning 3/5). Another group will meet on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 in the Underground (beginning 3/10). If there is enough interest, we’ll add a third group on Sunday mornings at 11:30.

DAILY READINGS
There is a companion booklet that will be available. The Daily Readings, written by John Fischer, will challenge you on a personal level to examine your life priorities and reflect on how to live your “one and only life” each day. The book also includes notes for the four small group sessions. The books are available through the church office at a cost of $7.50. Our reading schedule will begin on March 9th.

Live Like You Were Dying will be a unique opportunity for us. I pray that this series will create moments of thoughtful reflection on what really matters. I pray that it will touch our deepest longing for meaning. And I pray that it will unite our congregation and build a stronger sense of community within the life of our church family.

I encourage you to make the most of this opportunity. Attend our Sunday morning worship services. Participate in one of the small groups. Purchase a copy of the booklet and meditate on the daily readings. And may God richly bless us even as God richly blesses others through us.

In His Love & Service,

Lance